Car Dealers Set “Green” Blueprints

The LaFontaine Automotive Group has spent about $15 million in the last two years building and sprawling, multibrand auto dealership in Highland, Mich., investing $2 milliones in “green” initiatives. Read more...

 

Suddenly, a market for plug-ins

With the stroke of a pen, California regulators have created an instant market – and a sizeable one – for plug-in hybrids. Read more...

 

GM hybrids get off to a slow start in first quarter

Sales of new General Motors hybrids, including its touted full-sized SUVs, are taking off at a crawl. Read more...

 

Electronic brakes struggle to get traction

Engineers have long itched to replace the crude and cumbersome linages that form auto braking systems with neat wire, compact actuators and all-knowing electronic controls. Read more...

 

Toyota exec: Maybe it’s time to raise a Prius hybrid family

A family of hybrid vehicles carrying the Prius badge could be the best way for Toyota to leverage its alternative fuel technology, Toyota’s top U.S. executive said. Read more...

 

Nissan to make lithium ion batteries

Nissan Motor Co. hopes to leap-frog rivals by starting mass production of lithium ion batteries for low-emission vehicles next year as it plays catch-up in the green car race. Read more...

Post Office Says Direct Mail Works!

National study concludes consumers value the mail. Businesses benefit from mail that connects them to customers.

Nashville, TX – The mailbox hasn’t been eclipsed by the age of the Internet. A new national research study concludes that consumers value and use their mail. In fact, almost 70 percent report that mail is more personal than the Internet.

InnoMedia Inc. surveyed 1,500 households and devoted more than 35 hours of in-depth, qualitative interviewing to determine how consumers engage with their mail and how businesses can reach more consumers in a compelling and effective way. Read more...

 

Direct mail read by 32 percent more women ages 25-44 than email: Vertis

Eighty-five percent of women ages 25-44 read printed direct mail marketing pieces, despite the influx of electronically generated advertisements throughout the past decade.

This was a key finding from Baltimore-based Vertis Communications’ 2007 Customer Focus: Direct Mail study released Jan. 16. The survey of 2,500 adults – conducted via research firm Marshall Marketing & Communication Inc. over the phone in August and September 2006 – measures both general and industry specific shopping trends. Read more...

 

Positioning Data: By Steven Permuy

Demographic data is not as valuable by itself as it is when combined with other categories of data elements used to identify and predict profiles and behavior, respectively. In typical database marketing, data is used to understand what customers look like and how they behave.

Demographic data tends to be quantitative (i.e., age, income, home value); Psychographic tends to be qualitative since it captures what people are doing and thinking; of course. Read more...

 

Demographic Groups Rank Favorite Vehicles:

When it comes to different age groups and ethnicities, vehicle preference varies. Harris Interactive and Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research recently shed some light into these trends with their annual AutoVIBES Demographics series of reports. Read more...

CarMax: 78% of Car Shoppers Wish for Return Option:

Polling more than 28,000 car shoppers, CarMax discovered that 78% of vehicle purchasers at one time or another wished they could have returned a car within the first few days of buying it. Only 22% of participants on the company’s site said they never experience buyer’s remorse. Read more...

KBB: Buyers More Attracted to 0% Financing Over Other Incentives:

Thirty-seven percent of today’s in-market vehicle buyers said they see zero-percent financing as the most appealing inventive available, up 11 percent from last year, according to Kelley Blue Book’s New-Vehicle Buyer Attitude Study on Vehicle Purchasing and Pricing. Read more...

Consumer Searches for Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Soar:

With the national average of gas prices above $2.60 a gallon, consumer searches and inquiries to dealers for fuel-efficient vehicles have soared, according to cars.com recent Consumer Search Index. Read more...

Consumers age 35-44 are most likely to buy what and when?

Consumers Age 35-44 Are Most Likely to Buy a Car in the Next Six Months; Presence of Children in the Household Significantly Increases Automotive Purchase Intent. Read more...